Without a Doubt
by beautiful imperfections
Summary: The Flock aren't the only mutants. 3 other avian-hybrids were put through the same pain as them. And one of them, CodeA, has a terrible secret. When they join up with the Flock, CodeA finds that her new friends are willing to betray her for her past. FAX!
1. Prologue

Prologue:

Sirens wailed and people screamed as the White House was engulfed with flames. Within seconds the star spangled banner that flew high above it, was surrounded by thick black clouds of smoke and no longer visible as it was reduced to ashes.

Gleaming red fire trucks raced through the people that litter the streets, watching in awestruck horror. Gallons upon gallons of water were poured on the great house but the flames kept creeping forward.

The pedestrians were moved further and further back as the whole block burned on through the day. Hours passed but instead of the fire receding, it grew. It was almost as if the entire street had been drenched in gasoline.

Three days later, the last spark was put out, leaving half of Washington DC in utter ruins and hundreds of people dead, including the president.

For years officials searched for who was responsible, blaming country after country until there was no left to blame. A faulty wiring, they claimed, though no one believed it.

But had you been watching closely as the first eruption blasted inside the round office, a young girl could've been spotted sprinting across the lawn. In her hand was a single used match.

Hello, I'm Code A and when I was ten years old, I murdered the president of the United States.

_**AN: **__**Please move along to the next chapter. It's longer, I promise. **_


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One:

"Stop, you thief!" the policeman called to me as I skidded around another corner. My bare feet rubbed mercilessly on the blacktop, but I refused to let it slow me down. I could handle sore feet and scratches.

The heavy breathing of the blue uniformed man was frighteningly close. The alleyway I turned into was small and a dead end that was approaching rapidly. I didn't let it worry me; I had been in worst situations.

A fire escape suddenly appeared and my left hand caught it, swinging myself around so my feet touched the first step. I gripped the parcel I had stolen tightly in my right hand.

Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed the gap between me and the half a dozen officers was beginning to grow. Ahead the apartment buildings rooftop was coming into view. A few more steps and I would reach the top where I had more room to maneuver.

The metal steps ended and I felt the sturdy concrete building frame under my feet. Shouts from the police force kept me moving. With a few steps I bounded to the opposite side of the roof and surveyed my surroundings.

The people on the sidewalks stared up at me, trying to see what the commotion was about. With such a large crowd I was hoping I would simply be able to jump the next rooftop and disappear but it wasn't so. I had reached the end of the block and was facing Lexington Avenue now.

The squad that was after me now was standing a few feet away, telling me it was over and to give up. I smirked. It was _so _not over.

With pleasure, I let the wings that were pressed tightly against my back unfurl, passing through the large slits I'd cut in my sweatshirt. Audible gasps could be heard as my sleek black feathers extended their full twelve feet.

"Sorry, boys, I got to go." I dropped off the side of the building.

Instantly my wings filled with air and I glided gracefully over hundreds of shocked faces. I plumped down hard a few times, gaining lift. Within minutes I was nothing but a speck in the sky to the humans.

As the exhalation that flying always gave me disappeared, disappointment filled me inside. Once again I was going to show up on every news report tomorrow. BeCa was so going to kill me. Just this morning she had been ranting on again about how we needed to "stay under the radar."

I mentally shrugged as I started my descent. _She _could try to feed the three of us without using wings. My mind wandered to CeCe. At least someone would be impressed with my latest adventure, if you could call it that.

"Dinner's on me!" I called, as I entered our small house. We had found a summer cabin that was empty for the winter and at least for the time being it was home.

"Code A!" CeCe squealed, saying my name so fast it sound like Cody with an accent. The six year old appeared at my side, bouncing up and down, her perfect blonde curls continuing the gesture.

"Hey, sweet stuff," I responded, tweaking her nose. She giggled and ran on ahead on me into the kitchen.

BeCa stood at the kitchen sink, slaving over lunch's dishes. I don't know why she bothered not to use the dishwasher, something about "not stealing" electricity. Hey, we used the lights.

"Dinner's here," I stated the obvious to her, shoving them into the fridge.

Without saying a word, she flicked on the TV. The news showed fuzzy video of me flying off the building. Man, news traveled _fast._ Couldn't a bird kid get any time to make up an elaborate story to tell older, extremely scary when mad, bird kid? No one cared about poor me.

"Hey," I said, bringing my hands up in my defense. "I tried not to. Honestly."

"You're on TV," CeCe marveled, her big brown eyes staring up at me. "How cool's that?"

I smiled, turning back to BeCa. "She's thinks it's cool," I said with a straight face. BeCa didn't think it was so funny.

"Code A, be serious. You of all people should know how…delicate our situation is." BeCa chose her words carefully, glancing at CeCe to see if she was listening. The little girl was engrossed with the news report, smiling and laughing softly as it showed different shots of me. I had to smile.

BeCa pulled me into the hallway, her eyes flaming furiously. "That's the second time this month!" she snapped, her voice low.

I rolled my eyes, knowing she would hate it. At seventeen she was the oldest and for whatever reason was convinced I was a child. I was thirteen and endured more than she ever had! I knew what was at stake but also knew what I was capable of. There was no way anything was going to happen to us on my watch.

"We'll be fine," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

I saw her hand coming up to slap me but didn't bother to react, letting the sting bring tears to my eyes.

"This is important!" she snapped, a growl forming in the back of her throat. "Do you _want _CeCe to repeat what we went through?"

_We. _I bit back my snide comment about how she was a failure and didn't do anything like I did. She had no idea. Instead I kept my mouth clamped shut. We stood toe to toe for several minutes, glaring.

"Fine," she hissed, brushing past me and joined CeCe in the kitchen.

_**AN: Thanks for all the reviews so far. Please keep them coming! **_


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

I stretched out on the bed, careful not to wake CeCe or BeCa. There were two bedrooms in the house but none of us wanted to sleep alone. Not hearing the steady breathing of each other was another one of our nightmares. Ever since we escaped the Lab, each other was the only thing we could count on. If they weren't with me, I didn't know if they were dead, hurt or what.

I sighed; squinting to make out my family's sleeping forms. Though BeCa was irritating and we fought all the time, I really did love her. She was like an annoying older sister. My heart hurt to think about what I was about to do.

I let my eyes slid shut and pondered on the thought of allowing myself drift to sleep. I could always leave tomorrow night.

No. I snapped my eyes open and sat up. It was now or never. Slipping out of bed, I grabbed my pack. Opening the window, I jumped out silently and let my wings catch me.

With a regretful last look at the cabin, I surged up over the treetops and disappeared into the night.

**Max POV**

"All right, gang," I called, clapping my hands. "Up and at 'em. Let's get a move on." Dawn was just breaking over the horizon and considering we went to sleep at dusk, I figured we'd gotten enough sleep.

Fang was up within seconds, looking alert. Somehow I knew he been awake for some time. He looked at me curiously, a finger pressed to his lips.

I shut my mouth, listening hard. Luckily, my flock was too lazy to wake up after one wake up call. Oh, they were instantly awake for something unfamiliar, but they had strategically learned to sleep through me.

A slight rustle of the leaves, brought my gaze to the left. The brush shook and out of the corner of my eye I saw Iggy sitting up, looking intent. Fang, who was closer to him, tapped his hand to tell him to be quiet.

I was beginning to think it was just a squirrel or something when a girl stumbled out of the undergrowth. She looked at us blankly.

"Hello," she said, as the rest of my flock came out of dreamland. They all came to their feet, tense and ready to fight.

"You're Maximum Ride," she said, looking directly at me. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

I glared at her, my eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" I growled.

She didn't look fazed. "I'm Code A." A pair of midnight black wings shot out behind her, darker than Fang's.

Nudge gasped. "Max...?"

"Holy frijoles," said Total.

I couldn't agree more.

_**AN: Sorry about the short length. Suggestions, comments and critiques are all welcome and very much appreciated. **_


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